Search age:

Search in:

UK dumps plans for compulsory ID cards

Controversial plans to introduce compulsory identity cards have been dumped by the British government.

The cards were due to be made compulsory for pilots and airside workers at Manchester and London City airports on a trial basis ahead of plans to roll them out to the wider population.

The airport workers were outraged by the plans and threatened legal action against the government.

Newly appointed home secretary Alan Johnson on Wednesday said he had dumped plans for compulsory cards and promised they would now only be issued on a voluntary basis.

Advertisement

Opposition parties want him to go further and scrap the STG5 billion ($A10.2 billion) scheme entirely.

But Johnson said voluntary cards would be available for those living in London who wanted them in 2010 while people aged over 75 would be offered them for free.

The ID cards have been compulsory in Britain for all non-European Union residents since 2008 and will continue to be so.

The government had originally promoted the cards as an anti-terrorism measure and a way to tackle fraud and organised crime.

But Johnson said the government had been wrong to present the cards as a "panacea" against terrorism and should have highlighted how they could help young people prove their age in bars or act as an alternative to a passport when travelling in Europe.

"Holding an identity card should be a personal choice for British citizens - just as it is now to obtain a passport," he said.

However, critics of the card scheme fear British citizens who apply for or renew their passport will be automatically registered on the national identity card database under laws expected to be approved by MPs by the end of July.